Christie's November Geneva sale could very well break $16 million. It is just an absolute monster of a sale, with so many incredible pieces it's actually overwhelming. Included are several important Rolexes (James Bond's personal 5513 included) and some incredible vintage Pateks. The watch you see above is actually the watch with the highest estimate in the entire sale - CHF1,000,000 to CHF1,500,000.

What it is is an extremely rare Patek Philippe reference 1579 chronograph dating to the late 1940s. But what makes this particular Patek chrono so special is that it is housed in platinum. These watches are typically found in yellow and pink gold, occasionally in stainless steel, and practically never in platinum. In fact, this is very likely one of only three vintage Pateks to be made in a platinum case.

The 1579 was a special reference because it was the largest chronograph from Patek of the time at 36mm and it has interesting faceted lugs. This one, which could pull down over $1.5 million, has one trait that we'd like to know more about. It is inscribed on the caseback with "David J. Paper".

Who is David J. Paper? We have no idea. Christies doesn't either, otherwise they'd make mention of it in the footnote. Clearly Mr. Paper was a man of means, the average guy on the street isn't ordering platinum Patek Philippe chronographs immediately following World War II. But, not a single online search yielded any clues.

We don't know who David J. Paper is, but we do know he had excellent taste in timepieces. We also know that his platinum Patek Philippe chronograph could very well sell for a whole lot of money come November. Click here for details on this spectacular watch.

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Friday March 3, 2012

HODINKEE is one of the most widely read wristwatch publications in the world. Launched in 2008 by then 25-year-old Benjamin Clymer, the site quickly gained notoriety for earnest looks at some of the industry’s most interesting, and occasionally forgotten timepieces.